


A Gentle(Skeleton)Man

by CynicalGamer



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Eventual Smut, Fluff, Other, Reader has no defined gender
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-27
Updated: 2015-11-25
Packaged: 2018-04-28 08:29:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5085511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CynicalGamer/pseuds/CynicalGamer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Papyrus had a lot of trouble expressing his complex feelings<br/>Especially when he didn't have them in the beginning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> And here we are! More Commission work!

There was no use hiding the fact that you liked him. Him being he who you liked, you-know-who, because you would know who since it’s you who knew. You just confused yourself, didn’t you? That didn’t matter, what DID matter was that you were tired of beating around the bush so to speak. It had been perhaps only a short time that you really knew Papyrus, but his charm and charisma quickly got to you. It was a small crush, the kind you formed just by watching the other act, but that didn’t dismiss how strongly you actually managed to feel.

Papyrus was kind, occasionally snarky, a real hard worker, and absolutely the funniest person you knew. Which kind of disappointed Sans when you brought up the feelings to him.

“Not funny enough for you, am I? Guess Paps really is perfect for you, heh.” Sans was teasing you, giving a small wink. “But why ya telling me all this?”

“You seem pretty protective of Papyrus… I guess I kinda wanted your, uh, blessing. To ask him out an all.” Your face had warmed up considerably since the start of the discussion. And not just because you were at Grillby’s with the bartender himself rather close by. Sans snickered at you, leaning against the counter.

“Papyrus is a big boy now, he can make the choice himself.” For some reason, you didn’t think that was how Sans would have acted had you went ahead without his permission. Regardless, you had said permission and it wasn’t worth fighting that fight.

“Oh. Alright.” You nodded a few times, not sure of what else to do. The skeleton merely watched you with an interested expression.

“What are ya waiting for? Get going. Papyrus sure as heck wouldn’t be walking into this grease stain.” He motioned for you to leave, but still with his same lazy grin. Not wanting to prolong the awkwardness, you got up and left, just as he had wanted.

You stepped out into the cold, brisk winter that had been going on outside. Now that you had Sans in the know of things, it was time you made your move. First thing was first, however, you needed to find Papyrus. Sans was right, he would never be caught dead (heh.) standing around inside Grillby’s, but other than that, he could have been nearly anywhere. You really wished he had given you his number by that point.

With a few ideas in mind, you began walking along. Of course, most destinations turned out to be dead ends that simply used up time. It was maybe hours before you even managed to find yourself at Sans and Papyrus’ home, the last place you assumed your crush could have been. And in typical bad luck, the last place you looked was the right answer, because as you rang the doorbell, Papyrus answered, wearing an adorable outfit. He really was getting quite the fashion sense.

“Oh, uh… hey!” Way to go awkward intro. Papyrus smiled nonetheless, letting you inside.

“Greetings, human! You’re just in time for some of my world famous cooking! Note: not yet world famous… but someday!” His optimism was unbridled by anyone, and you enjoyed every moment you could listen to him speak.

“Sounds great, I’m kind of starved.” You admitted, taking off your coat and gently placing it on the hanger near the door.

“My ungrateful brother is skipping out on dinner again, so it’ll just be the two of us.” It was amazing how Papyrus didn’t even care why you were there, he was so willing to have you over and happy to see you that it didn’t really matter your reasoning.

In addition to that thought, was Sans really still out of the house? You had been wandering around town for what felt like forever. Maybe he fell asleep in on the bathroom stalls. Nah, that didn’t make sense, monster’s didn’t use the restroom.

“More for us, then.” You followed Papyrus into the kitchen and sat down at the table while he served up food onto plates. Often, while he did such, he would hum and slightly move his hips to the songs stuck inside his head. It was adorable how carefree he managed to stay.

As he sat down at the table, presenting the food to you, you knew it was time to start talking. Sans could have arrived at any time and ruin the setting.

“So, uh, Papyrus? I kinda have something to ask…” You shyly trailed off, watching as he carefully twirled up his spaghetti and took a bite. After he swallowed, he stared at you in slight confusion.

“What is it, human? Do you perhaps need more cheese?” Papyrus prompted you. In turn, you chuckled and shook your head.

“No, the spaghetti looks perfect. Just, uh…” You bit at your lower lip and bounced your knee at what felt like ten thousand miles per hour. “I know it’s only been a short while that we’ve known each other, but it’s just that… you’re really special, and I…”

“Human, I---” Papyrus began to speak, but you felt you had to finish.

“Will you please maybe go out with me?!” You suddenly blurted, staring down at your lap with what was probably the most animu blush in the world. There was a silence that formed after that.

“Human… I should have seen this coming…” Papyrus’ expression was suddenly rather solemn, something you hadn’t ever really seen. “My charm’s were getting to you… but alas… I am truly sorry that I do not feel the same way for you. Romantically, of course. B-but I do believe you are really quite cool and neat. Rad, even.” He looked at you so sadly.

And to be quite honest, you were feeling rather sad yourself. Even with his cute quirk of using old 90’s lingo on occasion, it still didn’t make you smile. Instead, you gave a sad and understanding nod.

“I see.” You muttered, shovelling some pasta into your mouth in order to swallow your own heartbreak.

“Please do forgive me. It would not have been right of me to, ahem, ‘lead you on’. I will still be your cool friend, however. And make you all the spaghetti you could ever want, since I am so Great.”

The rest of the evening became rather tense, and even the week after that was laced with an awkward feeling that you simply couldn’t shake. Sans tried to comfort you in his own odd way, joking around that the only person Papyrus could love was himself, but you didn’t feel much better after that.

After awhile, the awkwardness and heartbreak faded, but your feelings never did.

Little did you know, two years later, something incredible would happen to change everything.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jee whiz, first I struggle with writing exhaustion and then I have laptop troubles  
> BUT I NEED TO WRITE THIS  
> Cause it's fun and also I was already paid ahahaha

“You’re really something, pal.” Sans was shaking his head at you, hands clasped together as they rested on the counter. Grillby’s bustled with the same crowd of monsters you were more than accustomed to; a low rumble was constant and it seemed that all the voices melded together, making it hard to even register the skeleton’s next to you. It took a few seconds before you just had to ask.

“What do you mean?” You shoved some more fries in your mouth and narrowed your eyes.

“What’s it been? Two years? Still all hung up on my brother, aren’t you?” He looked pleased as punch when you awkwardly forced even more food into your mouth to avoid talking. After swallowing, however, you knew you had to answer.

“I’m not hung up on… just… still interested.” The last part was muttered as you reached for your drink. It had been two years or so, not to the day or anything absurd like that, but still, it wasn’t all THAT long ago that you were at that very spot, asking for permission to ask out a guy who ended up rejecting you. Maybe that was too harsh a word for the situation.

“Hm…” Sans scratched at his butt in that totally not great way. There wasn’t a great way for that, however. Sans really had no idea how to behave in public. In a way, you admired his ‘give no shit’ attitude. “Say… I have a proposition for you.”

“I don’t know if I like the sound of that.” You joked with a roll of the eyes. Sans snickered, shaking his head once more.

“How about a date? I think you’ve waited long enough.” Sans wasn’t even looking at you, instead, he continued to stare at his own hands. Wait a second. Was he… asking you out?

That was definitely shocking. Of course… you and Sans had known each other a long time and you were friends, but in that ‘You’re the worst but I love ya’ kind of way. The type of friendship where you just constantly joked around and made fun of each other. Was it really possible? That he liked you?

“I… uh…” You swallowed nervously, but quickly shoveled more food into your mouth. Sans turned to look at you in amusement. Your face must have been so red.

“No need to be so shy. I’ll set you up with a real winner.” He winked. You were confused. Until, of course, it clicked in your mind what he was actually saying. A blind date. Sans really was such a bonehead.

“I guess… so?” You managed after finally swallowing the last of your dinner.

“Great, I’ll text you deets later.” Hopping down from the stool, you couldn’t help but snicker at his use of a colloquial expression. Nerd.

“You’re going to have to pay for your food one of these days!” You shouted to him as he left, reaching for your wallet.

***

A couple days later, you were standing outside one of the fancier restaurants to come out of the underground. No, not Grillby’s. It never stopped being a greaseball. This was a different place, one that Sans had apparently hand picked or something. That didn’t really matter so much, however. In fact, all you were concerned about was how the date was going to go.

You entered inside to find Sans, who was wearing his usual style of a hoodie and shorts. He stuck out like a sore thumb.

“Hey there, pal. Let me take you to your date.” Sans waved lazily, turning away to lead you further into the restaurant. Obviously you followed, seeing as you weren’t about to try and find your date on your own. As the two of you snaked your way through the place, you felt your heart rate go up on its own. You were nervous.

“How far back does this place even go…” You muttered to yourself. Sans must have heard you, however, since he snickered.

“Here we are.” The skeleton motioned for you to go around the corner, so you did, until you saw something that immediately made you go red in the face.

“Papyrus?” You exclaimed in confusion. The skeleton in question looked up at you rather shyly himself, all dressed up for the occasion. Suddenly, he turned his gaze to Sans and glared slightly.

“Whoops, did you two already know each other? Shucks, what a bummer. Guess I should be fired. Ah well, see ya.” Sans sauntered off before you could join in glaring at him and then you were left alone with Papyrus.

“That son of a bitch..” You angrily mumbled, pulling out your chair rather forcefully before seating yourself. Papyrus looked more uncomfortable than frustrated and you noted the fact that he hadn’t spoken up yet. “Sorry, I didn’t know he was going to do that…” You thought maybe he was suspecting you of this scheme, so you made darn well sure that wasn’t the case.

“Me either. Sans is always up to something, though, but I must admit I am rather… proud? He put in actual effort for once!” Papyrus let out a ‘nyeh-heh-heh’ but it faded off awkwardly. “I am sorry, human… this must not have been what you expected. Do know that I had nothing to do with my brother’s plan as well! That would have been wrong of me, and I am never wrong. Ever.” He sure seemed hung up on that.

“Nah, I mean… if you had been behind it, I, uh…” You cleared your throat in hopes that Papyrus didn’t catch what you had been implying. Of course you still had feelings for him! So who could have blamed you for being a bit hopeful that he had actually orchestrated this whole thing?

“????” The fact that Papyrus could make a noise that emulated question marks was beyond you, but he was definitely giving you that look. The one that made it hard to lie.

“It was, uh… nothing important.”

“Everything you have to say is important.” There he went again, with his sincere words that made butterflies swarm your stomach. It was so impossible to feel like nothing beside him, because he saw everything good in everyone and found ways to bring them to light.

“...I guess I was kind of hoping you had set this up…” You admitted quietly, staring down at your table spot. The entire table was vibrating from Papyrus’ shaking leg. He never could sit still.

“Human? Do you still?” He looked concerned now.

“Yeah. I still kinda, maybe like you.”

“I believe I… maybe, kinda like you as well.” Papyrus responded shyly. You immediately looked up at his face in utter shock. What had he just said? “I hadn’t at first, but after getting to know you! Feelings just blossomed forward and I found myself… perplexed.”

“What?” You breathed out in disbelief. Your heart was beating a thousand miles an hour, pounding in your ears.

“I am a gentleman! Or… I think I am??? I had already rejected you and it felt wrong to crawl back to you after it had been so long. I am sorry.” The way his eyes were cast down made your stomach flop over. You kind of wanted to weep with joy, but that would not have been appropriate table manners.

“Well, uh.. if we both have feelings for each other shouldn’t we… do something about it?”

“Your logic is unparalleled except perhaps by me. And Alphys.” Papyrus’ words made you chuckle. Maybe your first date would go over better than you originally thought.

And by maybe you meant heck yeah.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've gotten so bad at updating whoops

The next week went by amazingly. The truth was you were always absolutely enamored with Papyrus and to have him return the sentiments was just about a dream come true. For the next few days after the blind date (you were still slightly pissed at Sans) you spent just about all of your free time with the skeleton, learning and observing as much as you could.

Having the freedom to unabashedly stare was certainly a nice perk to dating, seeing as you could note all of the cute quirks he had. You quickly figured out Paps loved music, any kind. Always while cooking or cleaning, he would gently shake his hipbones and hum some kind of tune. Sometimes, he even played the radio and sang along to all of those repetitive (and incredibly catchy) pop hits. Admittedly, he wasn’t a bad singer, but he kept mostly to himself and quiet.

You always began to realize that Papyrus struggled to sit still at all. Of course, you noted how fidgety he was on your first ‘date’ but you chalked that up to nervousness. Now that you fixated your eyes on him so often and also went out on more official dates, you could see just how much energy he had. You weren’t quite as energetic yourself, but it was sure adorable when he sped around thinking up new ideas of how to have fun and be with you.

And lastly you found out that Papyrus was obsessed with Television and Movies. Anytime he wasn’t running around completing errands, cooking, cleaning; he was bouncing up and down on the couch as he marathoned a new show or started up a movie he had heard about. Sometimes he had Mettaton over, who would also join in on movies and discuss the intricacies of the film industry as well as the secrets to movie magic.

Overall it seemed Papyrus loved human culture and was always curious as to what was real and what was larger than life.

“Does it really take that long?” Papyrus asked in reference to probably one of the longest death monologues you had ever seen.

“Uh, no… not usually.” You took a sip of your water, leaning forward.

Had you said lastly before? There was actually one more thing you had learned about Papyrus after the first week.

“May we… hold hands?” He stared at you with wide, eager eyes. You easily complied, taking his boney digits in yours and gripping tightly. His cheeks quite literally glowed a faint orange as he turned to look straight ahead.

That was when you were sure that Paps was positively the Gentleman he thought he may have been. Not necessarily traditional, but definitely sentimental in every aspect of life.

He held the door open for you everywhere you went, and made sure you were comfortable and having fun when you went out of your usual ‘safe’ zones and tried something new. Papyrus was consistently looking out for you just because he cared and this hadn’t been a new realization, really, but just… a slow burn. These things take time, dang it. Just like how long it took for him to ask to hold your hand or hug goodbye. Prior to the blind date (Nah, still angry at Sans) Papyrus was all about physical reassurance and comfort as well as gestures of kindness. In short, he was a sap. A cuddly, fun-loving, sap that enjoyed everything on a platonic level.

With the introduction to dating, it seemed he stepped back from those kinds of actions for fear that you weren’t ready for the relationship version of these gestures you were already so used to. Truth be told, you missed when he would lean on you as he laughed about some dumb comedy routine (that you actually found funny, too, but it was still dumb). You missed when he gave you a hug after he beat Undyne at Mario Kart. You missed the contact.

“Hey, Paps, can I ask you something?”

“Hm?” He looked away from the movie the second he heard your voice.

“Any reason you don’t, uh… touch me as much anymore?” That sounded vaguely dirty, and you sure as heck didn’t intend it that way. You could practically imagine Sans’ frustrating snicker.

“I don’t follow.” Papyrus responded, bringing his hand up to his jaw in contemplative thought. What a dweeb.

“You used to unapologetically hug and cuddle me and now that we’re dating you kinda… stopped.” You pointed out shyly, not even looking at his eyes but rather the top of his head in hopes of avoiding awkwardness.

“Well we have just progressed to relationship status! And all of the guides I have read online have said to take it slow.” He explained matter-of-factly. You found it sweet he looked up guides for you, especially considering his usually absurd level of confidence.

“We’ve known each other for awhile, Paps. You don’t have to be THAT slow. And, uh, I think the pace was referring to other things.” You began to chuckled nervously, hoping he understood the gist of it. After a second, Papyrus let out an ‘ahh’ and nodded along.

“Then is it alright if I?” He trailed off.

“You don’t have to ask.” You quickly reminded him. Next thing you knew, the skeleton had his arm around you, holding you close to his rib cage (though it WAS covered with a super soft sweater). Truth be told, you were kind of maybe a little head over heels for the dork.


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Intense Fluff

There were three separate occasions where you nearly said ‘I love you’ to Papyrus, but only one time had you really.

The first moment was two months into the relationship. The two of you were no longer in that passive and shy stage. Instead, you were all about being as close as possible, spending all your free time over at his (and Sans’) place cooking food or just hanging out. On that particular day, it being your second month anniversary, you were told to arrive at a very specific time; no sooner, no later.

Having realized you were a minute early, you waited at the door, just scrolling through some random social media while the seconds ticked on by. When the time changed, you immediately knocked your fist against the door and were greeted by an unexpected sight.

“Your boyfriend’s in the kitchen.” Sans let you in, jerking a thumb towards the mentioned room.

“Suddenly he’s ‘my boyfriend’ and not ‘your brother’?” You asked with a roll of the eyes. The skeleton shrugged, not poking fun back at you.

“When he’s having a meltdown about you, I don’t think he cares that I’m his brother.”

“Wait, what?” Without even letting him answer, you sped walked into the kitchen to see Papyrus sitting on the ground in the far corner, a pot over his head. “Paps?” You asked in a small voice as you approached. He hesitantly peeked out from under the cooking utensil.

“Oh, hello.” He sure sounded upset.

“What’s wrong?”

“Everything Nyoo-hoo-hoo.” He suddenly dropped the pot back down over his head once more. With a small sigh, you lifted and removed it, setting it off to the side.

“You know you can tell me anything…” You whispered. When he refused to respond, you placed a gentle hand along his cheekbone. “Please?”

“I ruined our special dinner by purchasing the wrong noodle. Now everything is ruined! I can’t use linguini when the proper spaghetti is angel hair! I just wanted to make you happy! Nyoo-hoo-hoo!” Again, Papyrus tried to hid his face from you.

Admittedly, you wanted to laugh. Sometimes it was silly what he worried about, but clearly it mattered to him and it would not have been very kind of you to laugh. So instead, you placed a small, but meaningful, kiss atop his forehead.

“Papyrus, it’s fine. You could never ruin anything.”

“But… the spaghetti…”

“Paps, I---” That was when it hit you. You wanted to tell him you loved him. Still, he had already been so flustered, it hardly seemed right to say it in that moment, so you refrained. “I always appreciate everything you do for me, whether it goes perfect or not. You put your heart into all that you do and it’s kind of amazing. Just like you.”

“So you’ll eat it?”  
“Of course, you dweeb.”

The second time you thought to say it involved much less tears, but so much more heart. It had been early spring and you had caught a cold being outside in those darn april showers with all the kicked up dust. Lying on Papyrus’ sofa, you weakly watched whatever movie caught your remote interest on Netflix. The skeleton brother’s were out of the house and with the quiet hum of the air conditioner, you fell asleep.

It wasn’t until early at the crack of dawn that you woke up. Only a few feet away, resting in the large recliner, was Papyrus, arms crossed over his body. Truly the most adorable sight. Carefully, you got up with the blanket still around your shoulders and entered the kitchen.

Sadly, that blanket managed to knock over a tin can and the thing went rolling all around the kitchen, until you heard your name called softly. Papyrus entered the room now, rubbing at his eye-sockets.

“How are you feeling?” He asked you.

“Meh.” You undoubtedly sounded nasally with your cold. “I think I just want some juice, though…” You reached for the fridge handle, missed, and then tried again. Papyrus chuckled and came closer.

“What juice do you desire?” His question became clear after you had already opened the fridge and noted the severe lacking of juice. Or anything really, but that was a matter for another time. Closing it back up, you furrowed your brows and went into a deep thought for what odd juice you randomly craved.

“Pomegranate.” You decided. Paps gave you a perplexed expression.

“I… have not learned of that fruit, but! I, The Great Papyrus, never back down from a challenge! I shall bring you the desired juice, sweetheart!” Your heart fluttered at his words. He had recently taken to calling you a number of terms of endearment. Super cute.

“It’s fine, I’ll take any juice really. Pomegranate’s out of season anyw---” The skeleton was already dashing away before you could finish your sentence. Since you had to wait anyway, you returned to the couch and laid down. Soon, you were asleep.

When you woke up, Papyrus was right there, sleeping, too, with a glass of pomegranate juice resting on the coffee table. You sat up, taking the glass in your hand and bringing it up to your lips.

You wanted to tell him how much you cared for him. Wanted to say it out loud, that you loved him… but he wouldn’t have heard.

The third time you felt the words bubble up from you wasn’t until another month later. You had spent the whole day with Papyrus, the sun was setting in the distance, falling just behind the mountain in the distance. Having expressed your desire to sit down, you and Paps settled on relaxing on the rim of a fountain. Orange lighting filtered your view, changing the color of the water. It was beautiful.

“I think the sun is my favorite part of the earth.” Your significant other suddenly blurted, staring at the large ball of light. At least he didn’t have to worry about burning his eyes or blinding himself. “Next to you, of course.” His addition made you chuckle shyly.

“Hey, Paps?”

“Hm?”

“Uh, nevermind.” You wanted to say it. You wanted to scream it. You wanted to explain just what he had meant to you, that everything he did was pulling you in deeper. He was devoted to you, but made it seem so effortless, like it was instinct. No matter what it was, he did it, because he cared for you and your happiness. He was like the sun, just a ball of light that gave and exuded warmth. “It’s not important.” A lie.

“Everything you say is important. Because you are important, too.” A fact. Everything kind he said came out a fact rather than an opinion.

“I love you.” You blurted out.

“!!!” Somehow, he exclaimed without words. “I… love you, too.”


End file.
